Related Articles

A summary of the 1851 and 1868 treaties

The Great Sioux Nation, whose real name is the Oceti Sakowin, is comprised of seven sub-nations who spoke the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota language. The Tituwan sub-nation spoke the Lakota dialect and lived in the western most portion. The Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) occupied a vast land area that covered 24 American states and parts of 4 Canadian Provinces. Other smaller nations also lived within the area as the Indigenous concept of territory followed natural law and was much different than the European concept of territory. The people of the Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) originated from the mouth of Wind Cave in the Black Hills. The Black Hills were so sacred that they were used for ceremonial, prayers, medicinal, and burial purposes only.

Published on Thursday, 23 July 2015 16:36 | Written by Zumila wobaga | | Hits: 3438

The Great Sioux Nation, whose real name is the Oceti Sakowin, is comprised of seven sub-nations who spoke the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota language. The Oceti Sakowin (Great Sioux Nation) occupied a vast land area that covered 24 American states and parts of 4 Canadian Provinces. Other smaller nations also lived within the area as the Indigenous concept of territory followed natural law and was much different than the European concept of territory. The people of the Great Sioux Nation originated from the mouth of Wind Cave in the sacred Black Hills.

The advance of the European-Americans from all directions caused the almost total extinction of the buffalo, the primary economic source of the Great Sioux Nation. After signing many treaties with the French, English, and eventually the Americans, the Great Sioux Nation fought for their survival and waged war on the United States of America. When the USA realized that they could not win the war, they asked the Great Sioux Nation for a treaty for peace. In 1851, and again in 1868, the Great Sioux Nation agreed to these treaties relinquishing large tracts of land but always keeping the sacred Black Hills intact within their care in the center of the territory. The people of the Great Sioux Nation had lived in this region for tens of thousands of years.

On March 3rd, 1871, the U.S. Congress passed a law which said that treaties made prior to that date would not be changed or abolished. It also said that no new treaties would be made in the future with Indian nations. From that date to this, since the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 was made prior to March 3, 1871, all American laws passed within the 1868 Treaty Territory are illegal. To try to enforce any American law that violates the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 would be in violation of the American March 3rd Act of 1871. Furthermore, to violate any treaty is also a violation of Article VI of the Constitution of the United States which states that “treaties are the supreme law of the land.”

The land area outlined in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 includes all of western South Dakota, and all land from the East bank of the Missouri River to the summits of the Big Horn Mountains. (See map.) This includes all of the Black Hills and is the current, legal land base of the Great Sioux Nation. A larger land area, a buffer zone, surrounds this central base and is reserved for the “absolute and undisturbed use and occupation” of the Great Sioux Nation, Article II, the 1868 Treaty. This “reserved area” is for hunting and fishing and includes portions of Nebraska, Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota. Anyone residing within this Territory without the express invitation of the Great Sioux Nation is trespassing.

However, in 1874, gold was discovered in the sacred Black Hills, and the United States began their illegal occupation of the Great Sioux Nation Treaty Territory to today. In 1889 the United States illegally established the American states of North and South Dakota, Wyoming and Nebraska. The last remnants of the people of the Great Sioux Nation were put into Prisoner of War camps which today are called American Indian Reservations.

In 1894, the Sioux Nation Treaty Council was established to keep the information alive regarding the illegal occupation of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty Territory by the United States. For the last 30 years, delegates have approached the United Nations to have the Treaty enforced and the Great Sioux Nation granted their freedom and independence. The current Spokesperson is Zumila Wobaga (Charmaine White Face) contact: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Contact

"...CONCLUSION Various historians has determined that the "Sioux Nation Treaty Council" formally formed in 1894, shortly after the Wounded Knee massacre. The Sioux Nation Treaty Council represents all of the Sioux Tribes (Approx 49 Tribes), and all other Sioux Treaty Councils would be subordinate to it, regardless of the Treaty Council's name...." See Bielecki Report pages 7 & 8, Oct. 5, 2008 (Bielecki Report)